HCFAS Provides Important Information to the Haitian Community

By Andrea Golinsky, Public Information Officer, Huntington Community First Aid Squad (HCFAS)

Long Island is home to approximately 30,000 Haitian immigrants according to some estimates. Like many immigrants to the USA, our Haitian born-and-raised neighbors can find American local emergency medical protocols a bit of a mystery. With that in mind, the Huntington Community First Aid Squad (HCFAS) met with many of these neighbors recently to give some pertinent health-related information.

HCFAS members, Nicole Calderone, Shayna Castagna, Richard Cortes and Bedel Saget, took part in the Yam Community Resource, Inc. first annual Health Fair in September. The health fair and services were organized primarily to interact with the Haitian community members residing in the Town of Huntington.

With translators on-hand, HCFAS gave a brief presentation on the history and services provided by the Squad, as well as CPR demonstrations and blood pressure readings.

HCFAS spoke about when it is appropriate to call for an ambulance (what constitutes a true emergency) and provided information about the importance of preventative medical testing such as for diabetes and cholesterol, and mammograms for breast cancer.

Many in attendance were surprised to learn that HCFAS is an all-volunteer ambulance company providing no-charge EMS care 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Some attendees even intimated that in the past they were reluctant to call ‘911’ when feeling ill, for fear of incurring a large bill for ambulance services.

About 17 other organizations were in attendance at the event, held at the Dolan Family Health Center on September 13^th, including the N.Y.S. Department of Health, Tri-Community Youth Agency, Huntington Hospital, Dolan Family Center, a dentist, an insurance agent, and day respite care representatives.